Ed Loy knows the consequences of living in a small town. Everyone wants to keep their business secret, and their secrets kept. Ed is in the detective business, and he must accept cases to survive. That does not make it easy when people you know have secrets they do not want exposed.

Father Vincent Tyrrell is dying, but does not wish to consider taking any chemo treatments. As he tries to get his affairs in order, he needs Ed to locate a missing person for him.

The missing person is Patrick Hutton. Patrick is a jockey, and Father Tyrrell believes his brother will have the information Ed needs to find him. Father Tyrrell's brother is the prominent racehorse trainer, F.X. Tyrrell. As it turns out, F.X. is already offering ten thousand euro for information about the jockey. As Ed begins his search for Patrick, he discovers some unexpected secrets about the Tyrell family. Patrick’s wife, Miranda Hart, already counts herself a widow, since there is no news of Patrick and at this point, would rather just have him proclaimed dead. When she hears who hired Ed to search for Patrick, she is not happy. The more Ed hunts for Patrick, the more information on gambling and horse breeding secrets he finds. These are secrets that could explode at any minute, and when they do, murder is the consequence.

The Price of Blood is a thriller of a read. It uses great descriptions and a myriad of characters that lend great visualization to the narrative. Declan Hughes carries the reader directly into the story of each character. Ed is a remarkable sleuth, doing his best to locate Patrick. I like how Mr. Hughes molds Ed into a private eye with a laid-back appearance, like that of the Marlowe or Sam Spade type characters. This action-packed, roller coaster read, has a great plot and crafts all the right elements to keep the mystery revolving, making it hard to put down. The result was one intense ride that thrilled this reader. I was almost sad when it came to an end.

Cherokee
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books